Sunrise Man Accused of Killing Wife, Her Daughter, Texted Friends and Family During Standoff: Police

A man accused of killing his wife and her teen daughter inside their Sunrise home called and texted friends and family members to tell them what he’d done as police had his home surrounded during an hours-long standoff, according to an arrest report released Tuesday.
Kevin Kemoy Nelson, 32, is facing two counts of murder in the shooting deaths of 40-year-old Karen Lyle and her 15-year-old daughter, Shanice Smith, the daughter of reggae singer Anthony Cruz.

Nelson remained behind bars without bond Tuesday. Attorney information wasn’t immediately available.
According to the arrest report, Nelson called 911 around 11:15 Monday to report shots fired at his townhouse in the 7700 block of Balboa Street. He reported that there were “several shots” and that two people had been shot.

“I’m the person with the gun,” Nelson said in the call, according to the report. When the operator asked where the victims were, Nelson replied “dead,” the report said.
The call was disconnected and police responded to the home, where officers made contact with Nelson.

“I’m afraid to get hurt,” Nelson said, according to the report. “I hurt people, I’m a failure.”
“I’m going to prison forever,” he added, according to the report.

Officers gave Nelson a phone to communicate which had a camera. The camera showed Nelson had a handgun, which he waved around continuously, the report said.
After a SWAT team responded and a standoff of about five hours, Nelson surrendered to authorities. The SWAT team entered and found the bodies of Lyle and Smith, who were both dead from apparent gunshot wounds and had their bodies covered by blankets, the report said.

“I’m in trouble. There are two dead people in there,” Nelson told officers after he was taken into custody, according to the report. “I can’t explain this. No matter what I say it doesn’t matter, the facts are still there.”
According to the arrest report, a neighbor told police he’d heard gunshots on Friday night. And Nelson’s sister said he came to her house Friday night and said he’d gotten into an argument with Lyle and killed her, the report said. When the sister asked if he was kidding he said yes, the report said.

The report said that during the standoff, Nelson texted Lyle’s brother.
“Shanice, Karen and me are all dead. The cops is here and the news crew,” the text said, according to the report. An hour later he called Lyle’s brother and told him he’d killed Lyle and Smith, the report said.

One of Lyle’s friends said she received several text messages from Nelson, the first at 10:20 a.m. Monday, less than an hour before the 911 call, the report said.
Nelson told the friend Lyle was cheating on him, lying to him, talking down to him and embarrassing him on a regular basis, the report said. He also said he believed she was having sex with her ex-husband, according to the report.

“I am sorry for everything,” his last text read.
When the friend called Nelson, he said “I am sorry to inform you that Karen is deceased,” the report said. When she asked what happened to her, Nelson said “I shot her,” the report said.
The friend also asked about the teen. “I shot her too,” he said, according to the report.
Smith had attended Piper High School in Sunrise. The musician Cruz, who is from Jamaica, posted a photo of Smith on Facebook Monday, hours after the tragedy.
“I can’t believe they kill my one and only daughter in ft. lauderdale,” he wrote.